Page 40 of Dirty Cowboy

Then my phone buzzed like a loud and obnoxious time machine. It was the only sound in the heavy, sultry silence of the barn.

Eric heard it, his head snapped up, and I ran.

I jump as a sharp knock raps against the door, followed by his deep, commanding voice. “Emma. Open the door.”

I take a few deep breaths, shake out my hands, and twist the lock open.

“What’s up, Eric?”

I blink rapidly, feigning innocence, but Eric is too damn perceptive. His gaze sharpens, his body blocking the doorway like a wall of solid muscle.

“Emma, what you saw?—”

“I saw nothing.” My voice is breezy, and too casual. “Well, not nothing. But I left immediately when I saw you were... busy.”

His jaw ticks. “Busy?”

I shrug. “It’s only natural. Everybody does it.”

I step forward, but Eric doesn’t move. He stays put, staring at me like he’s trying to read every single thought running through my head.

“So, you saw me jerking off.”

My eyebrow lifts. “Maybe?”

A slow, wicked grin stretches across his face. “You don’t know what a man with his hand around his cock looks like?”

I exhale, long and dramatic. “Fine. I saw you jerking off.”

His lips twitch, but there’s heat behind his eyes. “Could’ve been worse. Could’ve caught me in a more... compromising position.”

My stomach clenches. “What position would that be?”

He steps forward, closing the space between us.

"Should I knock on the barn door before I enter next time?" I ask.

His forearm braces against the doorframe, but then, he lets go, allowing me to pass. But the second I reach my bedroom door, his hand wraps around my wrist and yanks me back into his arms.

We’re standing face to face, and chest to chest. While he’s breathing hard, I can barely breathe at all.

His lips graze my ear, his voice a low, dark whisper. “What else have you seen in that barn?”

A memory of his tight, muscular ass plunging between a woman’s thighs, burns through my brain.

“Emma?”

His grip tightens around my wrist, like a handcuff.

I force a smirk, gripping the front of his ridiculous JoJo unicorn shirt. God, he has the weirdest T-shirt collection. And I love every single one.

"Fortunately for you, I keep secrets under lock and key."

I make a show of zipping my lips and tossing away an imaginary key.

“Fortunately?” His grip loosens just slightly. “So, you are keeping a secret.”

I tilt my head, my fingers curling into the soft cotton of his shirt. “Tonight wasn’t the first time I saw your... assets. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

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